In the wake of a series of explosive scandals, it's widely expected that Congress will pass new privacy legislation in the coming year. Big Tech lobbyists are flooding Washington to water down any bills that might stop them from exploiting personal data for profit. But we'll be there too, as founding members of Privacy and Digital Rights for All, a coalition of powerful consumer and civil rights advocates calling for real, robust privacy laws.  

Unlike other privacy efforts, which are often guided by industry and let lawmakers pat themselves on the back while corporations continue merrily along stealing data, our Framework for Comprehensive Privacy Protection and Digital Rights is driven by the needs of real people – and, most importantly, by the needs of children.

Among other things, our coalition's framework would:

• Stop giants like YouTube from stealing kids' data by pretending their sites aren't for kids.

• Give teens the same privacy protections currently given to kids under 13.

• Stop apps from sharing children's likes, dislikes, and browsing habits with advertisers.

• Require privacy policies to be clear, concise, and transparent.

• Prohibit targeted advertising to kids under 17.

• Create a new data protection agency to actually enforce privacy laws.

The time to act is now: 59% of kids ages 5 – 8 have their own mobile device, and this year alone, marketers will spend $1.2 billion just to target kids on tablets. Companies are falling over themselves to sell kids connected watches, home assistants, and other devices that turn personal data into corporate profits. Marketers are reaching kids everywhere, all the time, and they're not going to stop unless we stop them, together.

To learn more about our coalition and why comprehensive privacy protection can't wait, join us in D.C. or via livestream March 4 for a briefing with CCFC's Executive Director Josh Golin and other coalition members, hosted by U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Tom Udall.